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Rearden Commerce and Travel Management Companies Join Forces to Deliver the Total Travel Experience(TM)

Posted on: Monday, 10 April 2006, 09:00 CDT

SAN MATEO, Calif., April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Rearden Commerce, Inc., the largest online marketplace for services of all kinds, today announced agreements with more than 12 regional travel management companies (TMCs) to expand delivery of its Total Travel Experience(TM) to businesses across the United States. By joining with Rearden, TMCs can offer their customers the only integrated commerce platform and marketplace for managing all aspects of corporate travel -- from booking to policy compliance -- reducing the cost and complexity of corporate travel management.

"With up to 40 percent of travel and entertainment expenses still unaddressed by first-generation booking tools, businesses are looking for ways to effectively manage the cost of travel and ensure compliance with corporate policy, while also making the booking process simple and quick for employees," said Tony D'Astolfo, vice president of Travel Services at Rearden Commerce. "The Rearden Commerce platform lets TMCs add immediate value to their customers: it provides a single, simple-to-use tool for employees to book and manage all aspects of travel and entertainment; it gives internal travel managers full control over policy; and it gives TMCs a way to continuously add new services to their portfolio -- expanding their value to clients as well as their business opportunity."

Travel Management Firms Deliver Rearden Total Travel Experience

The Rearden Commerce Distributor Program will leverage select regional TMCs to deliver the Rearden Commerce solution to new companies and geographies, identifying and certifying TMCs that have well-established client relationships, a reputation for outstanding customer service, diversified offerings, successful client deployments and a proven track record for delivering more value to the business traveler.

The Rearden Commerce Total Travel Experience defines a new era of travel management, going beyond online booking of air, hotel and car to address the changing demands of today's corporate travelers. With the only integrated commerce platform and marketplace for all types of services, Rearden Commerce orchestrates all aspects of a trip including travel, dining, entertainment, web and audio conferencing; manages compliance with corporate policy; and integrates booked services with the traveler's calendars, among many other capabilities. Unlike legacy online booking systems, Rearden Commerce makes it easy to add new services over time, offering businesses and TMCs a central platform for all aspects of the traveler's experience.

Rearden Commerce's relationships with regional TMCs complement its existing agreement with BCD Travel (formerly WorldTravel BTI). BCD Travel is the third largest TMC in the United States and has been a Rearden Commerce Global Distributor since December 2005.

To date, Rearden Commerce has selected 12 Regional TMCs to deliver the Total Travel Experience:

-- Adelman Travel Group -- Having delivered travel solutions for more than 20 years, Adelman Travel is a unique provider of travel management for corporations with national and global requirements, specializing in aggressive cost-savings for domestic and international business travel. Adelman has five regional reservation centers and offers a full suite of technology solutions, with affiliate offices in Canada and Europe and more than 70 full-service, on-site travel centers for corporations throughout the United States and worldwide. The company is headquartered in Milwaukee. -- Best Travel -- As one of the nation's leading travel management companies, Best Travel, headquartered in Chicago, has experienced significant growth for the past 35 years while providing their unique "high touch" personalized services. Offering cutting edge online and telephonic reservation assistance, the 100 percent employee-owners of Best Travel handle complete corporate, leisure and meeting group travel needs for discriminating national and global corporate clients. -- Cain Travel Group, Inc. -- Established in 1975 and based in Boulder, Colo., Cain Travel provides a range of domestic and international corporate travel management services to customers in the Rocky Mountain Region. Through the use of advanced technologies and high service levels, Cain has established itself as one of the leading agencies in the nation. -- Campbell Resources -- Based in Dallas, Campbell Resources is one of the largest independent travel management agencies in the United States. For more than 20 years, clients have turned to Campbell Resources for strategically managed T&E and cost containment programs. -- Casto Travel -- Headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., with seven additional offices in major U.S. cities and two internationally, Casto Travel is the largest privately owned TMC in the Western U.S. Casto Travel provides a broad range of high-level travel services to a vast client base of corporate and leisure clientele, including the majority of Silicon Valley's top companies. -- GlobalStar Travel Management Corp. -- GlobalStar Travel Management Corp. is a founding partner in GlobalStar Travel Management -- an alliance of 52 shareholder travel management companies located in all major business markets worldwide. GlobalStar California, founded in 1983, serves clients throughout California and Nevada. GlobalStar specializes in developing, implementing and maintaining global managed travel programs for small to mid-sized companies. With a "High Tech, High Touch" approach, GlobalStar delivers customized travel solutions to growing companies. -- Peak Travel -- Based in San Jose, Calif., Peak Travel is one of the largest travel firms in North America. Peak provides creative, need- based travel solutions to more than 220 corporate customers. The company is committed to delivering value-add services and customized travel solutions to all clients. -- Tower Travel Management -- Tower is one of the industry's most prominent technology oriented TMCs. Founded in Chicago in 1979, Tower has grown into one of the nation's premier travel management firms, with global reach and experienced professionals providing the full range of corporate, online, meeting and leisure travel services. Tower is widely acknowledged in the industry for the successful implementation of online technology for corporations from the smallest to the Fortune 500. -- Travelong -- Based in New York, Travelong has provided services to some of the most well known corporations in the country for the past 70 years. Travelong specializes in quality travel management and expert planning services to corporations, associations and independent contractors. -- TravelStore -- Established in Los Angeles in 1975, TravelStore is one of the largest independently owned agencies in Calif. The company employs more than 250 agents and earns $175 million in annual revenue. -- Travizon -- Founded in Boston in 1972, Travizon is a global provider of travel, meeting and technology services for premier customers around the world. Travizon's cutting edge technology and VIP level service sets it apart as a leader in the industry. -- Ultramar -- Headquartered in New York with Reservation Centers in Chicago, San Francisco and Rochelle Park, Ultramar is a leading national travel management company that has been delivering smart technology and superior experience to sophisticated, demanding business travelers for more than 50 years. Training and Certification

Rearden Commerce provides all TMCs selected for the program with training and tools to be successful, including the latest support services, sales and marketing tools, solution training and certification. All TMC distributors selected to join the program will complete training courses covering the Rearden Commerce solution or specific Rearden Commerce modules. Training is conducted online and in-person, and once course work is successfully completed, TMCs will receive official certification.

Rearden Commerce

Rearden Commerce, Inc. is the world's largest online marketplace for services of all kinds. Through Rearden's online personal assistant, employees purchase services from a trusted network of over 130,000 global services suppliers based on personal preferences and company policies. Rearden Commerce is headquartered in San Mateo, CA. For more information, visit http://www.reardencommerce.com/.

NOTE: Rearden Commerce, Services On-Demand, Total Travel Experience and the Rearden Commerce logo are trademarks of Rearden Commerce, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Rearden Commerce, Inc.

CONTACT: Christine Cefalo of Porter Novelli, +1-619-237-1051, orchristine.cefalo@porternovelli.com, for Rearden Commerce

Web site: http://www.reardencommerce.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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